The PFL has unveiled the complete fight card for the return of Francis Ngannou to MMA on October 19 on pay-per-view.
The return of lineal UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to mixed martial arts is just under a month away and his new promotion, the PFL, unveiled the complete fight card on Thursday morning for the event taking place on October 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your Battle Of The Giants Fight Card is set 🔐
The countdown to impact is 𝙊𝙉 ⏳💥#PFLSuperFights | #BraceForImpact | Oct 19th pic.twitter.com/npBUbpv6Bb
— PFL (@PFLMMA) September 26, 2024
Leading the recently announced bouts is a featherweight contest between Husein Kadimagomaev (11-1) from Switzerland against Zafar Mohsen (13-4) of Germany who will be rounding out the pay-per-view portion of the card. Kadimagomaev has built a strong record overseas where he has two appearances under the BRAVE banner and has trained with current UFC middleweight star Khamzat Chimaev. Mohsen shares a similar path and enters the bout having finished his last three opponents.
Kadimagomaev and Mohsen join a pay-per-view lineup of pivotal bouts that includes the high stakes co-main event between reigning Bellator champion Cris Cyborg against two-time PFL tournament champion Larissa Pacheco, the middleweight rematch between Bellator champion Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards, and a lightweight bout between former Bellator champion AJ McKee and former Cage Warriors champion Paul Hughes.
Leading preliminary action will be former Bellator bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots who takes on Marcos Breno. Stots is looking to continue building momentum back toward the title after notching his second victory over Danny Sabatello earlier this year. Brazil’s Breno will be making his second appearance for the Bellator brand and first under the new iteration run by the PFL. Breno has a previous fight with LFA but has been relatively inactive with only four fights in the past three years. The two were previously targeted for a fight at the Bellator event earlier this month before it was scratched from the card.
The rest of preliminary card bouts that were announced will see up-and-coming talent from the Middle East and Europe in action with lightweight Makkasharip (15-4) taking on Derek Sanders (9-4), two featherweight bouts Ibragim Ibragimov (7-0) vs Nacho Campos (5-0) and Youssef Al Housani (4-1) vs Taha Bendaoud (3-0), and a middleweight fight Mostafa Nada (9-3) vs Ahmed Sami (11-4-0-1).
The event is set to take place in Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and will be broadcast on pay-per-view in the United States.
The Full Battle of Giants: Brace for Impact Fight Card:
Heavyweight Main Event: Francis Ngannou (17-3) vs. Renan Ferreira (13-3, 3 NC)
Women’s Featherweight Co-Main Event: Cris “Cyborg” (27-2) vs. Larissa Pacheco (23-4)
Bellator Middleweight World Title Fight: Johnny Eblen (15-0) vs. Fabian Edwards (13-3)
Featherweight Main Card Bout: Husein Kadimagomaev (11-1-0, 1 NC) vs Zafar Mohsen (13-4)
Lightweight Main Card Bout: AJ McKee (22-1) vs. Paul Hughes (12-1)
Bantamweight Early Card Bout: Raufeon Stots (20-2) vs Marcos Breno (15-3)
Lightweight Early Card Bout: Makkasharip Zaynukov (15-4) vs Dedrek Sanders (9-4)
Featherweight Early Card Bout: Ibragim Ibragimov (7-0) vs Nacho Campos (5-0)
Middleweight Early Card Bout: Mostafa Nada (9-3) vs Ahmed Sami (11-4-0, 1 NC)
Featherweight Early Card Bout: Youssef Al Housani (4-1) vs Taha Bendaoud (3-0)
